BioMarin Pharma gets $45 million boost

BioMarin Pharmaceutical has raised $45 million in a private placement ofcommon stock and the issuance of warrants "with a select group of institutional investors," which includes OrbiMed Advisors, Franklin Resources, MPM BioEquities Fund and Orbitex Management.

Under the terms of the deal, BioMarin sold approximately 4.8 million shares at $9.45 per share and issued warrants to purchase 700,000 shares priced at $13.10 each. Fredric Price, BioMarin's chief executive, stated that the placement provides the company with additional financial resources for its three most advanced programs.

BioMarin's lead products are Aldurazyme, a recombinant form of the human enzyme alpha-L-iduronidase, which recently showed effectiveness in Phase III trials for mucopolysaccharidosis-I (Marketletter May 21), rhASB, recombinant human arylsulfatase B, an enzyme replacement therapy for MPS-VI patients which is in Phase II, and vibriolysin, a neutral zinc-containing protease that is secreted by a marine Gram-negative bacterium, which in in Phase I for burn debridement.